Friday, December 16, 2016

Character Interview: Scrooje from 'On Top of the World'

We’re
thrilled to be talking to Scrooje Ebonyzer from David Lamb’s On Top Of The
World. It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank
you for your interview, Scrooje.How old are you and what do you do for a living?

I’m
thirty-two years old. What do I do for a living? I do me. I’m a music star,
fashion mogul, talent agent, music producer. I’m getting into making films and
doing theater.

Can
you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?

What
would I love the most about you?

Underneath my egotistical, materialistic,
uncaring persona I’m a hopeless romantic who cares deeply about people and
longs for a chance to win back, Belle, the woman I drove away with my greed and
stupidity.

What
is the trait you most not like about yourself?

My disbelief that I’m worthy of
love because I believe that no matter how successful I am that I’m doomed to
end up back where I started, broke and alone. And my unwillingness to admit to
the people who matter most to me that I regret some of the things I’ve
done.

If
you could change one physical thing about yourself, what would that be?

Look at
me—I’m handsome, suave, rich. You can’t be serious.(Well, actually, I do wish
that as a kid I hadn’t had a pip-squeak voice, needed coke-bottle glasses and
been the smallest boy in school, but that’s it.)

Who
is your best friend?

My best friend was Marley. He dies at his birthday party
in Brazil when he fell into his pool
and drowned (he was a little tipsy at the time). When I was in elementary
school I was the most picked on kid all the way through freshman year of
college. But Marley was an athlete that everyone looked up to and he always
protected me. His family even adopted me and rescued me from foster care.

What’s
your idea of a perfect meal?

A private dinner with Belle on a yatch sailing
around Manhattan.

When
you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Not poor! I grew up
in foster care, my sister Fan and I were forcibly separate when I was 12 and
more than anything I wanted to have money so I wouldn’t be subject to people’s
whims.

What
is your most treasured possession?

My Janjaap Ruijssenaars million dollar
Floating Bed. (Trust me—it’s the best sleep you’ll ever have.) Well, actually,
if was completely honest. My real most treasured possession my ring. Even
though Belle and I haven’t spoken in three years, I wear it under my shirt every
day, and even take it out and polish it every now and then.

If
you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

If
the angels are winning – find Belle and apologize. And then apologize to
Cratchit for being a prick instead of a good friend.

If
the demons are winning – put on a free concert in Central Park entitled Me. Myself and I. Copyright the phrase and
sell a million t-shirts at $40 a pop. Then have the money buried in a mausoleum
with me and have engraved on the Mauseleum – You Can Take ItWith You!

About the Author

David Lamb is a native New Yorker, born
and raised, bitten with the writing bug since he was in elementary school and
had handwriting nobody could decipher. Like Charles Dickens, David grew up a
poor boy in the big city who found that the pen really is mightier than the
sword. In middle school Lamb's hero was David Lampel whose velvet voice could
be heard reporting the news over David's grandmother's radio. Whenever he heard
him on the radio, David would substitute Lamb for Lampel and pretend he was
delivering the news. Sure that he was destined to be a famous reporter David
was happy to go to a high school with a journalism program. Like most kids, by
the time he finished high school he had a whole new career in mind. After high
school he went to HunterCollege and majored in Economics because he
wanted to be cool like that college kid who came to speak at his last year of
high school. He was an Economics major, he was dressed sharp and above-all the
girls thought he was the man! So like any unreasonable high school boy fueled
by overactive hormones David figured if he majored in Economics they'd think he
was cool. After finishing college David went on to law school at NYU, but all
the time writing was still his heart. While working as a lawyer by day, at
night he transformed into a writer and eventually wrote and produced the
award-winning hit off-Broadway romantic comedy Platanos Y Collard Greens. Being
a writer and having the chance make people laugh out loud while challenging
them to think about the world around them, and inspire each of us to believe in
the power of love and our own ability to overcome life's challenges is a great
gift that David truly enjoys and thanks you for allowing him to share with you
in On
Top Of The World (Until The Bell Chimes).

2016 BEST
FICTION-Pacific Book Awards. FROM
THE FUNNY AND NATURALLY BRILLIANT DAVID LAMB, award-winning playwright of
the New York Times celebrated play, Platanos Y Collard Greens, comes
a modern spin on Dickens' classic tale that perfectly combines humor and
romance in a story re-imagined for our digital, consumerist age. This
version of Scrooge and Belle is familiar, yet unlike any you've come across
before. Scrooge, or rather Scrooje, is music's

biggest superstar, with one
hundred million albums sold, fifteen million devoted YouTube subscribers, two
and a half million Facebook likes, and twenty-five million fanatical Twitter
followers known as Scroojites. Belle, is a legal shark who gulps down her
opposition voraciously and whose beauty and stunning figure causes traffic
accidents as she zips through the sidewalks of Manhattan stylishly adorned and taking no
prisoners. They never imagined being music's most powerful couple, but
that's exactly what happened when Belle fell head over heels and gave the
Coke-bottle glasses wearing, plaid and stripe attired, scrawny, biggest nerd on
her college campus the ultimate makeover, turning him into a fashion impresario
whose style sets trends from Milan to NY Fashion Week and who can be seen
courtside at the NBA Finals sporting a perfectly-fitted cashmere suit. Then
it happens. Belle realizes too late that she's created a chart-topping monster
as Scrooje's ego explodes and he starts acting a fool. Now, it's been
three years since they ve spoken. But tonight at Hollywood s biggest red carpet event, with the
whole world watching, they'll be given a second chance. Will Scrooje
listen to the ghostly-advice of Marley, his best friend since the fourth grade,
who at the time of his untimely drowning at his Brazilian poolside birthday
bash was as big a star as Scrooje? Will Scrooje finally do right by his number
one artist, Cratchit, a genius comedian, who Scrooje invariably rip offs every
chance he gets? And with twenty-five million viewers tuned in will
Scrooje finally shed his ego, jeopardize his image and declare his love for
Belle, the one he betrayed and let slip away? Second chances don't often
come around. Will Belle even give him a chance? Mixing heart, soul,
bling and romance in a fresh, original satire about race, class and celebrity
worship Lamb establishes himself as one of the most talented and amazing
writers today. And leaves no doubt that the Pacific Book Awards chose wisely
when they selected On Top Of The World as the year's Best Fiction.